Melissa Ellin

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and NASCAR Foundation are supporting Central Illinois mental health efforts through a $30,000 grant to the McLean County for Center Services, which was announced on Oct. 10 — World Mental Health Day 2024.

Meetings for the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council — a newly independent body that convenes area health and social service experts with government officials to discuss community behavioral health efforts in McLean County — are going private for the first time in the group’s history. Members say it should improve dialogue and get better results.

Student Athlete Mental Health Week starts Saturday, and Illinois State University has plans for every day of the week. WGLT spoke to ISU Athletics embedded counselor Lindsay Maxson, who helped develop the programming.

The Immigration Project and Home Sweet Home Ministries shelter are teaming up to put roughly $700,000 to use in helping recent arrivals in Bloomington-Normal and the unhoused.

The Administrative Offices of the Illinois Courts recommended increasing the use of Assisted Outpatient Treatment across courts in the state. A recent federal grant will help McLean County get a head start.

For the first installment of Illinois State University's 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month conversation series, Ph.D. candidate Edcel Cintron-Gonzalez will share how the Latino identity and mental health intersect in child and adolescent literature. It will take place 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, in room 314 of Williams Hall.

Recognizing the role art can play in recovery from addiction and as a nod to National Recovery Month, staff at A New Horizon community recovery center in downtown Bloomington hosted an art show Thursday night, featuring a small showcase of staff and client art.

The Unit 5 board of education on Wednesday approved $222 million budget for 2024-2025 with a balanced education fund, but a transportation fund deficit that could widen.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline counselors help people who may be on the cusp of taking their own life. But some counselors say that they’re also facing verbal and sexual abuse from a small fraction of callers.

Many staying in the encampment in Bloomington cannot live in congregate shelter settings. And even if they can, the Salvation Army might not have enough room for them.